<p>Im an 8th grader turning down my school's 9th grade program for another school next year, but I'm thinking of applying for a transfer to Exeter or Deerfield. My stats this year were:</p>
<p>SSAT: 91%
ECs: Mentor, cross-country (#4 runner on the team), wrestling, track (fastest mile on the team), CTY online, piano, orchestra for clarinet, guitar</p>
<p>And this year I plan to do:</p>
<p>ECs:Senior center volunteer, debate team, Varsity x-c, JV wrestling, track, summer program online, maybe some 5K runs for AIDS and/or cancer, same music stuff (maybe take out guitar)
Courses: Honors Precal, Physics, Latin II or III. Rest of courses are required of all 9th graders.</p>
<p>So do I have decent chances, assuming that my SSAT stays approx the same?</p>
<p>I would say that you have a very good shot, however it is hard to tell with the increasing amount of applicants for prep school. </p>
<p>You have a great balance of interests/activities, from running to piano, and wrestling to mentoring. Prep Schools like to see well rounded kids who have a diverse range of interests. </p>
<p>If you follow through with all you said you're going to do next year, and you get that SSAT score up a little bit you're a lock for any prep school in America. Check out Andover since you seem to have a good background in math and will have solid physics after next year.</p>
<p>I've been through all this agonizing process of prep school too..</p>
<p>I think you do have a pretty solid/good chance. MAYBE you MAY want to reconsider trying again the SSAT since there are so many kids applying with 95 and even 99th percentiles. Your 91th percentile is still very solid too. </p>
<p>What are your grades? Im not really sure there is much of a difference between a 90-95 centile in terms of admission</p>
<p>My son had a 3.2 gpa with a 90th composite on the SSAT and got into all 5 preps he applied to including Andover and one other top 3 prep/private in Massachusetts</p>
<p>Concentrate on your interview, recommendations and grades don't focus so much on one test---it is not that important</p>
<p>I agree with MomofaKnight. If your SSAT is already above 90%, retaking it for a higher score probably won't increase your chances for admissions. As a mother of a D who recently went through the process--and who was accepted to Andover, Exeter, Deerfield & Groton--I'd say focus on your grades, recommendations and the interview. How you come across in the interview is extremely important. The top schools are not just looking for bright kids, they are looking for bright kids who are interesting, passionate about what they do and who will add something to their campus population.</p>
<p>I'm going to Exeter next year. (As a prep) I applied to Andover + Exeter and go into both. I had a 94 SSAT (or maybe it was 95? Sry, I can't remember. Probably 94 though), but the interview is the key. </p>
<p>They're looking for kids who are excited by things, lively, and energetic. </p>
<p>So would you be applying late to Exeter for this year? or would you be a new-10th grader when you entered?</p>
<p>ok, i was blocked from posting as icantspellmyname and now i gotta use my mom's sn, so just pretend i'm icantspellmyname. i'll be applying next year for the 10th grade (2010)</p>
<p>Just do not limit your applications to ONLY Exeter and Derrfield. You should be competitive, but both turn down lots of well qualified applicatns. If you want to go to a place like these, then dover the bases with at least 5 or 6 different schools.</p>